Lexington company's medical innovation has potential to save lives

Tuesday

Jul 1, 2014 at 11:30 AMJul 5, 2014 at 9:39 AM

Ami Olson

A new product developed by Lexington-based T2 Biosystems could dramatically improve the survival rate of trauma patients whose bodies are unable to control or stop bleeding.The innovative and proprietary technology, called T2MR, uses a magnetic resonance-based diagnostic method to test blood samples in a fraction of the time previously needed.

T2 Biosystems last month published a manuscript with scientists from the University of Pennsylvania evaluating the use of T2MR technology for studying comprehensive hemostasis in whole blood.

Here's what you should know about this medical innovation developed by a Lexington company:

3 things to know about T2MR

1. The technology works by measuring how water molecules react in the presence of magnetic fields and is highly sensitive to changes in a blood sample (such as clot formation, stabilization or dissipation), which alter the magnetic resonance signal and enable identification of clinically relevant hemostasis changes.

2. Existing methods typically require large volumes of blood and can take several hours to provide results, making it difficult to obtain many of the rapid and accurate assessments of hemostasis that are often needed to effectively guide therapeutic decisions, said study lead author Dr. Douglas B. Cines, a Perelman School of Medicine professor at the University of Pennsylvania. “These new results suggest that T2MR has the potential to address this need by providing more rapid and sensitive identification of patients at risk for thrombosis [blood clots] or bleeding using a single, simple-to-use approach,” said Cines.

3. The T2MR diagnostic technology platform is a research and investigational product with the potential to provide a comprehensive assessment of a patient's hemostasis parameters, using a single instrument in less than 20 minutes, using very small volumes of blood (0.04 ml).

WATCH: How T2MR works to identify impaired hemostasis

By the numbers

20 minutes T2MR can evaluate hemostasis parameters, including identification of patients with impaired hemostasis, in under 20 minutes

19% mortality By quickly identifying these patients and allowing for the rapid delivery of therapy, mortality can be reduced from 45 percent to 19 percent

25% occurrence Right now, about 25 percent of trauma patients have impaired hemostasis, which often goes undetected, creating a significant unmet need